Window-shade-operating device.



E. T. SHELTON-,

I wmnow SHADE OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9, '96- 1,228,069. mm May 29,1917.

'2 SHEETS-SHEET l- I A if. Z" ff/f2 ran,

(Br r E..T. SHEL-TON. wmnow SHADE OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9; I916.

Patnted May 29,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET z' ITED srnrs PA onio EDWIN T. SHELTON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, 'ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH T0 STONAY LAIN'GDALE AND ONE-FOURTH TO WILLIAM H. LANGDALE, BOTH 0F ST. LOUIS,

MISSOURI.

WINDOW-SHADE-OPERATING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1917.

Application filed December 9, 1916. Serial No. 135,964.

.a citizen of the United States of America,

and a resident of the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'Window-Shade- Operating Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improved pull cord mechanism for operating window shade rollers, the invention having for its object to provide an easily operated and highly eflicient device of this kind which may be used in connection with a plain roller thereby dispensing with what are known as spring rollers, the springs of which'frequently become broken or impaired to the great annoyance of the users.

Figure I is an elevation of a window shade and its roller, partly broken out, and my operating device.

Fig. II is an enlarged front elevation of the bracket plate and my operating. device with the cord receiving drum and the roller journal which extends therethrough shown in cross section.

Fig. III is an enlarged front elevation of the upper portion of the bracket plate, part of the ratchet wheel and the ratchet wheel locking dog.

Fig. IV is a rear elevation of ceiving drum.

7 Fig. V is a longitudinal section of the cord receiving drum and theadjacent end of the shade roller.

Fig. VI is an enlarged top view of the operating device and a fragment of the roller.

Fig. VII is an enlarged rear elevation of the bracket plate and the operating device.

Fig. VIII is a section taken approximately on theinolined line 'VIIIVIII, Fig. VII.

Fig. IX is a View similar to Fig. III, illustrating a modification of the ratchet wheel and locking dog.

In the drawings, A designates a window shade and B a plain roller to which the shade is secured and on which it is wound. At one end of said roller is a journal 0 adapted to turn in a suitable bracket D. The other end of the roller is rotatably supported by a journal pin ormember E which the cord reshade roller.

1 designates a hangerplate adapted to be secured to a window jamb" opposite to that towhich the bracket D -is'.secured. This plate has a central 'outstanding portion 2 containing a notch 3 forthe reception of the journal pin E of the roller and an approximately centrally arranged aperture l spanned by a backwardly ofi'set cross-bar 5. This cross-bar has mounted in it a horizontal outwardly extending stub-shaft 6 serving as a journal for a radially arranged ratchet Wheel 7 having ratchet teeth 8 on its front face (see Figs. II and III) and angular rearwardly extending detent lugs 9 at its periphery (see Figs. II, III, VII, and VIII), there being a lesser number of said detent lugs than of said ratchet teeth for a reason to be hereinafter made apparent. In the ratchet wheel shown there is a detent lug opposite each second ratchet tooth.

' 10 designates a pawl-bar rockably mounted on the stub-shaft 6 in front of the ratchet wheel 7 and provided with a depending pawl'll,'on its inner arm, for engagement with the teeth of said ratchet wheel. Said codperates with my device'fo'r operating the pawl-bar'is permitted to partake of a rewith a series of radial stops 16 adapted to be engaged by the lip 18 of a resilient yield- 'ing locking dog 17 secured to the hanger plate at its rear side, said lip projecting through said plate above the ratchet wheel 7 A projection 19 at"the 'loweredge of the locking dog is adapted to be engaged by the peripheral detent lugs 9 on the ratchet wheel to withdraw the lip of said locking dog from engagement with the radial stops 16 on the drum 15 at a time to be hereinafter specified.

2O designates a pull cord secured to the drum 15 and wound thereon. Said pull cord leads downwardly from said drum to and beneath a lower sheave 21 carried by the pawl-bar-lO (on the outer arm thereof) and vice is very simple. -When the shade is to be raised the operator exerts a pull upon the pull cord 20, and, as a consequence, the lower sheave 21 is drawn toward the upper sheave 22, with the result of moving the outer arm of the pawl bar 10 by which the lower sheave 21 is carried upwardly from the lower stop 13 to the upper stop 12. The two positions of said pawl bar are shown in full and dotted lines Fig. II. As the pawl bar partakes of the movement ust stated, the spring 14 is placed under tension and the pawl 11, on the pawl bar, engages a radial ratchet tooth 8 and acts to rotate the ratchet wheel 7 a sufficient distance to carry one of the detent lugs 9 into engagement with the projection 19 on the resilient locking dog 17. Previous to this engagement between a de tent lug 9 and the locking dog the lip 18 of the latter occupied a position in front of one of the stops 16 on the drum 15 to hold the drum from rotation, and the detent lug, by engaging the projection 19, moves the lip of the locking dog out of the path of travel of the stop 16 and retains the dog in this position, so that it will not interfere with free rotation of the drum 15 and the shade roller by which said drum is carried. Therefore, by a continued pull upon. the cord 20, after the pawl bar has been .moved to the position shown by dotted lines Fig. II, the operator may exert such degree of pull upon the cord 20 as will result in the shade being raised to any desired degree. It may be also mentioned at this point that, if it is desired to lower the shade instead of raise it, the parts are actuated in the manner described to free the drum 15 from the holding influence of the resilient locking dog 17 and then slacken the pull cord to allow the weight of the shade to rotate the shade roller until the shade has descended to the desired degree. It should be stated that, when the pull cord is slackened to permit the lowering of the shade, the pawl bar 10 is returned to its normal position under the influence of the spring 14, but this movement does not result in operation of the ratchet wheel 7 and, consequently, the active detent lug on said ratchet wheel continues its service of holding the locking dog 17 out of engagement with the drum 15, so that said drum and the V shade roller are free to rotate.

Subsequent to the rotation of the shade roller to either raise orlower the shade wound thereon, the pawl lever 10 is again actuated by the pull cord 20 to move it from its lowered position to its elevated position between the stops 13 and 12. In so moving the pawl 11, said pawl bar rotates the ratchet wheel 7 one step, and, as this movement is suflicient to carry the active detent lug 9 on said ratchetwheel out of engagement with the projection 19 of the locking dog 17 said dog is free to return to its normal position, 7

previously described. The locking dog is provided with an inclined lug 19 which is adapted to enter any of the notches 9 at the periphery of the ratchet wheel 7 to hold said ratchet'wheel from rotation. Upon the movement of the ratchet wheel the rear fac ring of said wheel rides against the inclined lug 19, thereby forcing the locking dog backwardly until the lug 19 bears against the rear side of the ratchet wheel between two of the notches, and acts to hold the looking dog out of engagement with the drum on the roller. Thereafter, an additional step movement of the ratchet wheel following the operation of the shade results in the lug 19 becoming seated in the notch 9 next in advance of the one in which it was formerly seated.

Attention is directed to the provision of a notch 17 in the locking dog 17 into which the detent lugs 9 enter to prevent backward r movement of the ratchet wheel 7 under the influence of the pawl 11 when the pawl bar 10 moves in a reverse direction; also to the provision of an abutment plate 23, secured to the cross piece ratchet wheel 7 and hold the detent lugs 9 properly presented to the locking dog 17..

I claim 1. The combination with a window shade roller, of a drum secured to said roller, a re- I silient yielding locking member for engagement with said drum, a ratchet wheel adapted to move said resilient yielding locking member out of engagement with said drum,

a pawl device for operating said ratchet wheel, and drum operating means adapted to operate said pawl device.

2. The combination with a window shade roller, of a drum secured to said roller, a pull cord secured to said drum, a resilient yielding drum locking. member, 'a ratchet wheel cooperable with said resilient yielding drum locking member to release said drum, a pawl device for operating said ratchet wheel, said pawl device being operable by said pull cord.

3. The combination with a window shade roller, of a drum secured to said roller, said drum being provided with a series of radio stops, a resilient yielding locking member 5, which serves to stabilize the n adapted to engage said radio stops, a ratchet wheel cooperable with'said resilient yielding locking member to release said drum, a pawl device for operating said ratchet wheel, and drum operating means adapted to operate said pawl device.

4. The combination with a shade roller, of a drum secured to said roller, a resilient yielding drum locking member, a ratchet wheel adapted to withdraw said resilient yielding drum locking member from engagement with said drum, a spring controlled pawl device for operating said ratchet wheel, and drum operating means adapted to operate said pawl device.

5. The combination with a shade roller, of a drum secured .to said roller, a resilient yielding drum locking dog, a ratchet wheel having detent lugs for engagement with said resilient yielding drum locking dog, a pawl device for operating said ratchet wheel, and drum operating means adapted to operate said pawl device.

6. The combination with a shade roller,

' of a drum secured to said roller, a resilient yielding drum locking dog, a ratchet wheel having detent-lugs for engagement with said resilient yielding drum locking dog, a pawl device for operating said ratchet wheel, and a pull cord for operating said drum and said pawl device to first release said drum and thereafter impart rotation thereto.

7 A window-shade operating device comprising a hanger plate, a roller drum having radial steps, a resilient yielding locking dog, having a lip for engaging the radial stops, a ratchet-wheel having radial ratchet teeth and peripheral detent lugs, for releasing the V locking dog from the radial steps, a rocking pawl-bar having an inner arm "provided with a pawl for engaging the radial ratchet teeth and an outer arm carrying a lower sheave, lower and upper stops, limiting the movement of the outer arm of the pawl-bar, means for returning the pawl-bar, an upper sheave and an operating flexible connection extending from the roller drum, beneath the lower sheave, and over the upper sheave.

EDWIN T. SHELTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. 

